The present invention relates generally to a heat exchange apparatus such as cooling tower or evaporative condenser. More specifically, the present invention relates to a water saving cooling tower including a dry sensible heat exchange section and an evaporative heat exchange section.
In cooling towers comprising dry sensible and evaporative heat exchange sections, it is desirable to optimize the performance of the cooling tower depending on the ambient temperature and other conditions. In cooling towers having a dry sensible heat exchange section above the evaporative heat exchange section, typically the exhaust air is drawn across and upwardly by a fan. One drawback of such cooling towers is that the dry sensible heat exchange section usually provides a relatively fixed sensible cooling capacity percentage relative to the total cooling capacity of the cooling tower. It is desirable to allow the sensible heat exchange section to take on a greater percentage of the total cooling load, especially as the ambient temperatures drop or the total cooling load on the cooling tower decreases.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a water saving cooling tower having a dry sensible heat exchange section and an evaporative heat exchange section whereby the cooling percentage of the total load provided by the cooling tower in the dry sensible heat exchange section can be readily increased.